


Regal

by insert_something_clever_here



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Dan is a prince, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, and kinda cliche, and phil is a servant, but it's super fluffy, i have no idea how to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 10:22:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7529029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insert_something_clever_here/pseuds/insert_something_clever_here
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We should be friends,” Daniel stated.</p>
<p>“Is that allowed?”</p>
<p>Daniel shrugged.</p>
<p>The staring continued.</p>
<p>“You’re very pretty.”</p>
<p>Phil finally broke their eye contact to stare at the ground again, going completely red. “I’m pretty sure that’s really not allowed,” he said, but a smile marked his features nonetheless.</p>
<p>“I don’t care. Besides, I’ve never been one to follow the rules.”</p>
<p>(basically an AU in which Dan is a prince and Phil is his servant.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Regal

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone who has decided to read my story. i don't know why you'd be reading this, but here we are. so, this story actually came about via my creative writing class. i had started writing and i was like "this is totally gonna be an original story" but then it was like jk! this is actually a fanfic. *sigh* anyway, i hope you enjoy this incredibly cliché prince au. i'm actually pretty happy with it.

The carriage bumped along the nearly empty street, rain pounding on the roof, splattering the windows. The boy inside looked moodily out at the deserted town, while the older woman next to him fussed over his hair.

“I don’t even want to go to the stupid opera,” he whinged, slapping the woman’s hands away.

“I know, Daniel,” she said with a sigh, “but we’ve been over this before: as heir to the throne, it is impertinent that you attend important events.”

Daniel rolled his eyes and returned to looking out the window, eyes gazing listlessly down each alleyway and side street. It was too dark and dreary to make out much, but a sudden flash of lightning illuminated a small, hunched figure leaning against a building.

“Stop the carriage,” he commanded.

“Is something wrong? We really shouldn’t stop, we’re late as it is—“

“Stop the bloody carriage or I swear to god I will jump out this window.”

The woman’s eyes scrunched together, but she leant forward anyway and told the driver to stop. As soon as they had stilled, Daniel leapt from the carriage and darted back to the building where he’d seen the shadow. Whoever it was was still there, head bent, arms wrapped tightly around a thin waist.

Daniel stepped forward slowly. “Are you alright?”

The person’s head jerked up, black hair dripping rain into his shocking blue eyes. He couldn’t be much older than Daniel himself, maybe twelve or thirteen, despite being quite a bit shorter than him.

The boy wrapped his tattered cloak tighter around himself and stepped away from the prince.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

The boy shook his head and backed farther against the building, eyes now wide in fear.

“I promise.” Daniel took another step closer, and the boy eyed him warily.

“Daniel!”

Both boys turned to the voice, the odd sight of this old woman in a full gown running through puddles and mud garnering their attention. “Nana, I’m busy.”

“We have to go,” his nanny grabbed his arm and started pulling him away. Daniel glanced back to where the boy was stood, only to find a head of black hair turning a corner and running out of sight.

* * *

The mystery boy was found three days later, after Daniel insisted that every man in the king’s army went looking for him. He was brought back to the castle, shivering and completely soaked through his clothes, dripping on to the tiled floor of the Grand Hall. Daniel slowly stepped towards him. The boy’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Why am I here?” he asked in a high, quavering voice.

Daniel shrugged. “You looked like you could use a place to stay. And, well, you interested me.”

The boy looked down as a faint pink blush rose on his pale cheeks.

“So what’s your name?”

“Phil.”

“I like that name. I’m Daniel.”

Phil’s lips quirked into something of a smile as he looked up at the prince through his bangs. “I like your name, too.”

Daniel looked to his nanny, hovering anxiously by the doorway. “Can we keep him?”

“Er… I suppose we could use more help around the castle… Let me check with your parents.”

Daniel nodded, then turned back to this new acquaintance as his nanny scurried out of the room. Daniel stared into Phil’s brilliant blue eyes, and he looked right back, unflinchingly. “We should be friends,” Daniel stated.

“Is that allowed?”

Daniel shrugged.

The staring continued.

“You’re very pretty.”

Phil finally broke their eye contact to stare at the ground again, going completely red. “I’m pretty sure that’s really not allowed,” he said, but a smile marked his features nonetheless.

“I don’t care. Besides, I’ve never been one to follow the rules.”

* * *

Phil quickly discovered that the king liked to yell. No one seemed able to escape his wrath, not even Daniel.

“Are you alright?” he asked one time after an especially unpleasant screaming match between father and son earlier in the day, which ended in Daniel storming off to his room.

“I’m bloody fantastic,” Daniel spit out.

“Well, er, do you want to talk?”

“Not particularly.”

“Right,” Phil said, and made for the door.

“You can stay if you’d like, though.”

Phil stopped and let a small grin grace his face. Even though he’d only known Daniel for a few months, he already knew very well how the prince operated. “I’ll stay,” he said, then sat next to Daniel on the bed.

They were quiet for a little bit, before Daniel said, “I hate him.”

“Your father?”

“Who else would I be talking about?” Daniel asked, rolling his eyes a bit.

Phil shrugged. “Why do you hate him?”

This time it was Daniel who shrugged. “He’s awful.”

Phil scooted closer to the prince. “I hate how he yells at you. You don’t deserve that.”

“I do, sometimes, though. I can be pretty unbearable. Shut up, you know I can be,” he said to Phil, who looked ready to argue.

“Well, you still don’t deserve for your father to be so mean to you.”

“He does that to everyone.”

“Yeah, but you’re his son.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Daniel said, turning away from Phil, closing in on himself.

Phil felt disappointment rise up in him at this, at his not having yet earned the younger boy’s trust. “I guess I should get back to work, anyway,” he mumbled and started to stand, but was immediately stopped by a small, warm hand on his arm.

“No. Stay,” Daniel pleaded. “You won’t get in trouble, I promise.”

“Okay,” Phil said, sitting back down. Daniel’s hand lingered on his arm, and Phil missed the warmth when he removed it. “I care about you, Daniel.”

“Call me Dan.”

“Huh?”

“Dan. You can call me Dan.”

“Oh. Alright, then… Dan. Sorry, it’s a bit weird.”

“That’s alright,” Dan said, chuckling a bit. “And, er, thanks.”

Phil’s cheeks flushed.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Your parents. What happened to them.”

Phil looked away from Dan. “Well, obviously they’re not really in the picture.”

Dan prompted him to continue, nudging the older boy with his shoulder.

“They died when I was eleven. I lived with my great uncle for a while, but I ran away.” He paused, crossing his arms protectively over himself. “He, well, he wasn’t the best person. I guess you could say,” he cleared his throat, “I guess you could say he kicked me out? Never really liked me. I was just after twelve when I left. Are you sure you want to know all this?”

“Of course,” Dan answered immediately. “I care about you.” He smiled and took the servant’s hand, giving it a small squeeze. “Go on?”

“Well, that’s about it. You found me a little after I left.”

“I’m glad I did,” Dan said, smile still wide on his face.

Phil smiled back. “I’m glad you did, too.”

* * *

“Phil.”

The servant boy’s head whipped up from where he’d been staring furtively at a stain that just wouldn’t come out of the carpet. He relaxed as he saw it was only Dan, and sat back on his heels, scrubbing brush held loosely by his side.

“Phil, we need to talk.”

“Is something wrong?”

Dan shook his head. “Just… just come with me?” he asked, eyes pleading.

Phil nodded slowly, eyebrows furrowed in concern. “Of course,” he said, getting up from the floor and gathering the cleaning supplies.

“You can do that later,” Dan interrupted. “This is important, and if I don’t do this now, it might never happen.”

“You’re scaring me a little, Dan.”

But Dan didn’t respond. Instead, he just held out his hand, which Phil hesitantly took. He blindly followed as Dan led him down unfamiliar corridors, until at last they came to a stop in front of a plain wooden door.

“What is this?” Phil asked.

“Somewhere private.” He opened the door and gestured for Phil to enter.

The room was small and dark, and Phil stumbled over a broom as soon as he stepped in. Dan followed behind him and shut the door. “Okay, what is going on?”

“This is… Okay, so, you’ve been living here for like three years now, and… Christ, this is harder than I thought it’d be.” Dan scratched the back of his neck and looked down to his polished shoes.

Phil rested a hand gently on Dan’s arm. “It’s okay,” he smiled. “You can tell me anything.”

Blue eyes locked into deep brown ones, and Dan took a deep breath and continued. “I know that I’m not supposed to, but I think I… you know…”

“Keep going,” Phil whispered.

“I think I love you.” Dan’s voice was so quiet it could barely be heard, even in the near absolute silence of the broom closet.

Phil nodded. “I know.”

Dan’s eyes widened in a way that’d be almost comical if it’d been any other situation. “What d’you mean?”

“It’s alright. I think I love you, too.”

And without a moment’s hesitation, their lips met. It was clumsy, sloppy, and mostly teeth, but it was perfect. Dan hooked his arms around Phil’s waist, pulled him closer. They broke away after a while, breathless, and lingered there, neither wanting to break the moment. It was all so easy. Never mind their matching heights, though that did make the kissing easier, but just the atmosphere, the history between them, they knew each other more than anyone else, they loved each other more than anyone else, and it was all easy.

“So what do we do now?” Phil murmured.

“I don’t know,” Dan whispered back, breath tickling Phil’s ear. “But, I do know that that was absolutely amazing.”

“Well, in that case…”

And their lips joined once more.

* * *

“Dan. Dan, come on,” Phil said, trying to pry the younger boy from his neck.

“Phi-il¬,” Dan whinged, but detached his lips nonetheless. His arms still circled Phil’s waist, and Dan leant his head on the other’s chest. The boy was now much taller than him, and he quite appreciated the height difference, as his head fit perfectly under Phil’s chin, where the taller boy frequently rested it. “I love you, you know.”

Phil’s chuckle rumbled through him. “Yeah, I know. I love you, too, but your father called you to supper twenty minutes ago.”

“Yes, and I was busy twenty minutes ago.”

Phil rolled his eyes. “There are a lot of people down there. And your father said he said he had a surprise for you.”

“If it’s bloody Natasha again, I swear…”

“Be nice to Natasha.”

“But she’s a right twat.”

“So are you,” Phil smirked.

Dan pushed himself away and gave Phil a light smack on the arm. “Piss off,” he said, but smiled nonetheless. Their eyes caught each other’s, and Dan leant in to capture Phil in a kiss.

“I’m serious, Dan, we have to go,” Phil mumbled against Dan’s lips.

“Can’t keep Natasha waiting, can we?”

“We already have.”

Dan hummed as he adjusted Phil’s uniform, taking care to arrange it so it covered the purplish bruise forming on the taller boy’s neck.

“You look like you just had sex,” Phil informed.

Dan rolled his eyes. “So do you.”

Phil raked a hand through his already mussed up hair and sighed. “I’m pretty sure your father knows.”

“Of course he does. But does he care? Eh, well, probably. Still set on me marrying bloody Natasha, though. I’m not going to, you know?”

“Yeah?” Phil raised an eyebrow as he let himself and Dan out of the closet they’d hidden themselves in. “How’re you going to manage that?”

Dan shrugged, and they were silent as they walked down the deserted corridors. “Everyone’s at the banquet,” Dan said quietly, not really talking to Phil in particular, just stating his thoughts.

“Yeah, and we were supposed to be there a half hour ago, as well.”

More silence.

“You alright?” Phil questioned.

“We should run away,” Dan said, voice quavering.

Phil stopped walking. “What?”

“We should run away,” Dan said again. “Leave this place.”

“Think about what you’re saying, Dan—“

“I’m going to go mad if I stay here much longer, and I’ll probably be forced into marrying bloody Natasha! I can’t do that. I just can’t.”

“Have you been thinking about this long? I mean, it just feels kind of sudden.”

Dan shrugged. There were tears forming at the corners of his eyes, and Phil moved towards him, putting a protective arm around his shoulders.

“That’s okay. We’re okay. We can figure this out.”

“I have figured it out,” Dan said, wiping at his eyes. “We run away.”

Phil let out a weak laugh. “I don’t know how well thought out that is.”

“Well, what else do you propose?”

They were quiet once again as Phil thought about it. “What’s so wrong with marrying Natasha?” he asked after a while.

Dan shot him a withering glare. “If you haven’t noticed,” he seethed, pushing Phil’s arm from his shoulders, “I’m gay.” His eyes softened slightly as he looked to the floor. “And I’m in love with you.”

“We could still be together,” Phil offered. “It could work.”

“Would you really be happy with that? Because I know I’d hate it.”

“Well, it definitely wouldn’t be ideal.”

“Let’s just run away. C’mon, Phil, please.”

Phil grasped his lover’s hands, looked into his large, pleading brown eyes, and said, “I love you, Dan, and I would love to leave this place and never look back—“

“Then let’s just—“

“Dan,” Phil cut him off. “Just let me finish, alright?”

Dan nodded.

“Okay. But we can’t simply run away. Everyone would be looking for us. Well, at least for you. We could leave the city, hell, leave the country, but then what? We’d have nothing.”

“We’d have each other.”

“Damnit, Dan!” Phil shouted, making Dan flinch away. “You’re not listening!”

“I am listening,” Dan replied quietly. “And please don’t yell. I already get enough of that from my father.”

Phil slowly let out his breath. “Sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean—“

“Yeah, I know. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not—“

“Let’s just go to dinner, alright?”

“Alright.”

They started walking again, this time with a notable distance between them. “I love you,” Dan said as they neared the entrance to the dining hall.

“I love you, too,” Phil replied, worried at the desperation in his lover’s voice.

“I’ve loved you since the minute I saw you. And,” he stopped walking, pulling Phil to a halt as well, locking eyes and clasping hands, “whatever happens, I will always love you.” He gave Phil a chaste kiss and walked away, throwing open the large oak doors to the dining hall and disappearing inside.

* * *

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Natasha kept trying to make conversation, which Dan cheekily avoided. Even after barely ten minutes of this, the king had his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed at his son. By the time the main course arrived, his face was an ugly puce and his right eye was twitching. Phil watched this happen, concern etched on his face, as he intermittently refilled wine glasses and replaced dropped silverware and napkins.

“So, Daniel,” Natasha said, delicately cutting into her piece of chicken, “what do you think you’ll do when you get older?”

“Get married probably,” he said. “Oh, not to you,” he said to Natasha’s hopeful face, which promptly fell into one of confusion and hurt. “I’ll definitely leave this place, as well.” He cast a glance to his father, who looked about ready to explode. “Maybe find a nice boy—“

“That’s it!” the king shouted, slamming his fists onto the table, knocking over his empty wine glass. Dan leapt up from his chair. “I have had enough of your games, Daniel! Now, you will sit down and listen to me!”

“No! I have had enough!” he shouted back. “I hate Natasha, I hate being a prince, and I hate you!”

“Dan, calm down,” Phil said, slowly walking over to Dan.

“This is because of him, isn’t it?!” the king yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at the servant boy. “I always knew taking him in would be a bad idea.” The king started menacingly towards Phil.

Dan stepped in front of his lover, his small body acting as a shield. “No, this has nothing to do—“

“He’s the one that’s caused all of this,” the king snarled, voice low. He loomed over the two boys. Dan held his arms out over himself and Phil protectively. Phil clutched Dan’s shoulders, knuckles as white as his face.

“Darling, please, there are guests—“ the queen started.

“SHUT UP!”

The queen went silent.

“I know what you two get up to,” the king said, glaring at Dan and Phil. “You think you’re so clever, sneaking him around right under my nose. Well, I won’t stand for it. I want him out.”

“Fine,” Dan replied.

Phil whipped his head towards the prince. “What—?”

“I’ll go with him.” He crossed his arms over his chest, chin raised defiantly.

“Dan, no—“

“Like hell you will.” The king then grabbed Dan’s arm and yanked him along towards the corridor. “With any luck, you’ll never see him again.”

Dan pulled against his father’s grip. “Phil, go!” he yelled. “I’ll find you, I promise!”

And with that, the king and the prince were gone, leaving the room in absolute silence. Most eyes turned to Phil, who caught those of the queen. She gave him a short nod, and he quickly edged his way out of the room.

* * *

“I don’t care what you say!” Dan yelled at his father, frantically throwing clothes into an old rucksack. “I’m not marrying Natasha, and I’m sure as hell not staying here.”

“I’d like to see you try to leave.”

“I’d like to see you try and stop me.” He pushed past his father and ran.

The king sighed and slammed the door to his son’s room shut.

* * *

Rain pounded against the street, soaking Dan’s clothes and hair and blurring his vision. His feet slipped on the slick cobblestone and almost sent him crashing to the ground, but he caught himself at the last moment. “Phil!” he called, though his voice was lost in the wind. He continued to run down the streets, frantically looking down every alley and calling out his lover’s name as he went.

“Dan?”

It was very faint, but he still heard it and immediately rushed off in the direction it came from. “Phil!”

“I’m here,” Phil’s voice said, closer this time.

And then he was in front of Phil and he immediately took him up in his arms.

“You found me,” the older boy whispered into his hair.

“I promised I would.” They remained in the embrace, oblivious of everything going on outside of their little bubble. They were not aware of the king explaining to his wife that their son was gone. They were not aware of the queen breaking down into sobs and ordering men from their army to find him. They were not aware of the screaming match that ensued between the king and queen, debating how wise the queen’s orders were.

“We should get out of here,” Phil said after a while.

Dan nodded and pulled away. “Where do you want to go?” he asked, small smile playing on his face.

Phil adopted his own crooked smile. “Let’s find out when we get there.”

And then they ran.


End file.
